HOPE  SPRINGS  ETERNAL

2/08

Feb. 15 marked the beginning of Spring Training for Major League pitchers & catchers.  Spring training is a time of preparation for the season, but it’s more than that.  Spring is the time when every team plans on a winning season.  Spring is a time when every player, coach, & team plan to overcome last year’s mistakes & improve on last year’s record. 

Hope is an elusive quality.  When you listen to someone, you can tell if that person’s got hope or not.  Hope is something that pulls & propels someone forward.  But without hope, there is no possibility of forward movement. 

For many years, I felt no hope for my favorite team, the Milwaukee Brewers.  Before Major League Baseball shared media revenue, small market teams like Milwaukee and Pittsburgh barely had the income of a AAA team in the N.Y. Yankee’s farm system.  If one of their players became good, he’d sign a new contract with a team that had more money.  The change to share TV revenue a few years ago meant that small market teams had a chance, a prayer, a hope of become competitive again. 

Last year, the Milwaukee Brewers finished with an 83-79 record which was good enough for 2^nd place in their division, & good enough to stay in the playoff race until the last race of the season.   Now, they can afford to resign their good young players.  Now, they’ve shown that they can win.  Now, they have a future with hope. 

Are you feeling hopeful?  Or is your hope still frozen in winter cold?  Left to our own knowledge & abilities, we eventually run out of options & energy, and give up.   

Hebrews 6;13 is about God’s promise to Abraham.  There were many years after this promise when it seemed like he was not blessed by God, but Abraham waited patiently and received what was promised.  Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm & secure…”   An anchor holds a boat in place, against the currents that push it.  An anchor represents strength & security.  God’s promise is a source of strength & security because God keeps his promises. 

My friends, if you are going through a difficult time, put your hope in Jesus Christ.  He is all-powerful and so loving.  “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar like eagles…”  (Isaiah 40:31)   As we draw closer to spring, may the Lord cause your hope to be renewed, like a fan hoping for his team to win this season.  May your hope spring up like a flower blossoming in springtime! 

With my prayers,